Celtics are back in a tough spot after offense goes silent to close Game 4
BOSTON -- The Celtics were five minutes away from going up 3-1 on the Warriors in the NBA Finals. It was right there for the taking.
But the Celtics did not take it. Instead, they let it completely slip away. Their closing time struggles resurfaced, the offense disappeared, and Golden State was able to rip the win away from Boston at TD Garden.
"Stagnant" was the key word when anyone on the Celtics was asked about what happened down the stretch of Friday night's 107-97 loss. Ime Udoka said that his team went hunting for mismatches too much and then settled for threes.
"Silent" was probably the better word. Maybe even "nonexistent." After taking a 94-90 lead with 5:18 left, the Celtics missed their next six shots. Five of those were from behind the arc, and the majority of them were forced.
The Warriors, meanwhile, went on a 10-0 run. Steph Curry accounted for half of Golden State's points during that run, and scored 10 of his 43 points in the final four minutes of the game to cap off his incredible performance.
After taking that lead, the Celtics scored just three more points the rest of the way. Al Horford's three to make it a 100-97 game was the only shot that the Celtics made over the final five minutes.
The Celtics offense never really got into a rhythm on Friday night. For most of the evening, no one really looked like they knew where they were supposed to be when Boston had the ball, and far too often, guys were just standing around. On a few occasions, they were close enough to each other to hold hands.
That is inexcusable in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
"I felt like we took possessions for granted," Al Horford said after the loss. "I don't feel like we executed as well as we did the previous game and you really can't do that. We definitely need to be better down the stretch and a little more locked in as a group."
Of Boston's 21 shots in the fourth, 13 were from three-point range. There was too much iso ball in the final quarter, and not enough fishing for a better look.
"We were watching the guy with the ball instead of moving like we've been doing," said Marcus Smart. "We just have to move, plain and simple. If the ball gets stuck, go screen somebody. But we have to move. We can't let the ball get stagnant and let them load up on us."
Jaylen Brown said that spacing was once again one of the main issues and a big reason why Boston's offense was so flat Friday night. Guys were too close to each other, which led to turnovers. The Celtics turned it over 16 times, with four of those coming in the fourth.
"When things go wrong, we don't get space. We don't take our time. We get a little sped up," said Brown. "We need to get more settled, more control, more organized, and I think things will be better for us in those moments."
"We got way too stagnant late in the fourth," said Jayson Tatum, who was 8-for-23 in Game 4. "Everybody."
The Celtics don't make anything easy on themselves. They love to take the hard road. That is the path they back on with the home-court advantage returning to the Warriors.
The Celtics have their backs against the wall once again. Game 5 in San Francisco on Monday night isn't, by definition, a must-win. But it's as close to a must-win as you can get without it actually being a must-win.
At least they're pretty good in those situations. Boston is 7-0 following a loss this postseason and 8-3 on the road. The Celtics won a must-win Game 6 in Milwaukee and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami. They took Game 1 against the Warriors on their home floor.
"That's been us this whole playoff run," Horford said. "Now our backs are against the wall, and we have to come out and respond. It's a big challenge ahead, but it's something that we have – I've said it before and sound repetitive -- we have to look at the film and figure out how we can be better, and then come out and be better."
"We don't do this [stuff] on purpose. I promise you we don't," said Tatum. "We're trying as hard as we can. There are things we need to clean up; turnovers, movement on the offensive end.
"Going up 3-1, that would have been best-case scenario. But it's the Finals," continued Tatum. "It's the art of competition. They came in here feeling they had to win. It wasn't easy. I think that is the beauty of it. It's not going to be easy and it shouldn't. We both want it, and we have to go take it."
Full control of the series was right there for the Celtics on Friday night, but they wilted down the stretch and put themselves in another tough spot. They are once again playing with fire, and this time it's against a team that has the best shooter in the game and three championship rings.
Winning a title isn't supposed to be easy, but the Celtics are making it a whole lot tougher than it needs to be. It hasn't burned them yet, but if they come up short against the Warriors, letting Game 4 slip away -- on their home floor -- will haunt everyone's summer.